


Halloween Is For Villains, Too

by lalunaunita



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien as Ladybug, Gen, Halloween Costumes, everyone as ladybug!!, marinette as chat noir
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-27
Updated: 2017-10-30
Packaged: 2019-01-25 04:42:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,058
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12523240
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lalunaunita/pseuds/lalunaunita
Summary: Marinette dresses up as Chat Noir on Halloween, only to discover the entire class wore their Ladybug costumes to school.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Rendevok](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rendevok/gifts).



> A million thanks to @Rendevok for this hilarious idea!!  
> There's still an epilogue to come...

"Adorable!" Sabine Cheng exclaimed, clasping her hands by her cheek.

Marinette walked down the stairs Halloween morning, decked out in her brand-new handmade costume. She tugged at the tail, made of one of her father's old leather belts.

"It's not too fan-girly, is it? Everyone at school loves Ladybug and Chat Noir as much as I do, so..."

"It'll be fine, honey. And you did such a good job! You must have really studied up on photographs of Chat Noir." Her mom tugged at one of Marinette's black cat ears, pinned carefully in place on top of her head.

"Um, yeah! That's it. The Ladyblog has an awesome gallery of candid shots. Made it easy to pick out all the details." Mentally, she breathed a sigh of relief.

Marinette already knew Alya was going as Ladybug, so Chat Noir was perfect. Alya had wanted to go as twins, but Marinette felt creating a fake Ladybug costume when she wore the real thing all the time was a little self-centered. Besides the fact that there was the distinct possibility Alya's eagle eye might ferret out the truth if Marinette looked a little too Ladybug.

Tom smiled at his daughter over his cup of coffee. "The last time you were a cat, it was one of those feral, regal types... what was the book series, Honey?"

"Warriors," Sabine supplied.

Marinette blushed, remembering her insistence on fake fur and the frustration of making her own gloves for paws at age seven.

"Yeah, this is a little different."

She ate breakfast, gathered her books, and headed off to school - on time, for once.

****

The first Ladybug Marinette ran into was Kim, in red and black-spotted gym shorts and a ridiculous set of antennae with red pompoms on the tips. He had tied a red bath towel around his shoulders as a cape. Marinette couldn't stifle her giggles as they walked to class and Kim laughed, too.

"Not all of us have a future as a fashion designer, Marinette. Hey! Why didn't you go as Ladybug? It would have been a perfect fit!"

"I, um..." her answer was forestalled as they entered the classroom, which buzzed with excited chatter. Marinette stopped short. Every single student in the room wore red and black in some variation of her Ladybug costume.

"Hey, you guys copied me!" Kim shouted, rushing to the front and posing with hands on his hips.

"As if!" Cloe sniffed from her front row seat.

Marinette was already familiar with Chloe's top-notch reproduction of her full costume, but she was surprised to see Sabrina wearing the exact same set.

The costumes in the room ranged from scarily accurate to simple polka-dotted t-shirts. They were all clearly Ladybug. Marinette blushed under her Chat Noir mask. Did they really love Ladybug so much? She'd saved nearly all of them from Hawkmoth's machinations in the past school year. Her heart fluttered happily as the public token of their admiration hit home.

"What is going on in here?" A new voice caused Marinette to turn back toward the door and her already-full heart kicked into overdrive.

Adrien stood in the doorway, his red and black domino mask unable to hide raised eyebrows. Marinette felt all the breath in her body leave with a sudden woosh.

He stood, unabashed, in a form-fitting Ladybug costume that didn't leave much to the imagination. With trademark teen-model style, Adrien pulled it off easily. He looked like a real superhero, Marinette thought to herself. Except for the silly clip-on earrings.

She sank slowly into her seat as he sauntered on silent feet right up to her desk.

He appraised her quickly with a stomach-quivering smile. "Chat Noir, huh? Nice!"

She opened her mouth to reply to the compliment, but he had already slipped into his seat and was busy fist-bumping Nino.

"Marinette, you stick out like a sore thumb in this bunch. It's adorable," Alya grinned happily from her end of the desk.

"Don't worry, I'm still your partner," Marinette reassured her.

"Yeah, but I bet trading up looks pretty tempting right now." Alya wiggled her eyebrows and looked pointedly down at Adrien.

Marinette just smiled.

****

At first, the class thought the ruckus outside was just students having Halloween fun. Within a minute, the desperate screams of schoolmates brought the whole room to high alert. Mrs. Bustier peeked out the window into the hall beyond, her antennae headband bobbing above her demure chignon.

"Class, gather your things. There's an akuma downstairs. Remember how we drilled, everyone. Quick and quiet."

As one, they put away their tablets and shouldered their school bags, lining up at the front of the room. Ms. Bustier opened the door and swiftly checked left and right. At her nod, they followed out onto the walkway. The akuma was bellowing in the central court below, colorful blasts punctuating each yell. Max and Alix ducked when a blast hit the iron railing and a shower of sparks rained down a little too close.

"Halloween is for the villains, too!" the akuma shouted petulantly. "If I want to dress up as Hawkmoth, no one can stop me! I worked hard on this costume. You'll all suffer for making fun of me, now that the real Hawkmoth has powered me up!"

"How are we going to get out of here?" murmured Adrien. He was preoccupied with finding his moment to slip away and transform to Chat Noir, but it looked like the opportunity wouldn't be coming any time soon. Walking down the stairs left the class wide open to attack by the akuma.

Ms. Bustier sighed. "Class, head back to the room. We're safer there."

She turned to lead them back, but Rose stepped out of the line, fists pressed defiantly to her sides and her puffy Ladybug mini-skirt swishing imperiously.

"No!" she exclaimed, turning to the rest of the class. "If Ladybug isn't here, it's our duty to stand up to the akuma until she is! Are we fans or not?"

The rest of the class muttered, uncertainty turning to excitement, then determination.

"Guys, that's crazy!" Adrien protested. If they rushed the akuma, he'd never get away to transform.

He caught sight of Marinette nodding frantically next to him. He couldn't resist sneaking a peek at her in that picture-perfect Chat Noir costume. The amount of detail...the work she must have put in... he'd had no idea Marinette was such a fan of his alter ego. He knew his own costume looked good - his dad had commissioned it for him and it was custom made. But Marinette must have completed hers at home. A mental image of the young woman hunched over the fabric, sewing on final touches by hand came unbidden to his mind. His stomach did a funny little flip-flop as he noticed how the final product perfectly complemented her figure.

He gave himself a mental shake. _Focus on the problem at hand, Adrien_. He'd missed something critical while daydreaming, though. Half the class was already at the bottom of the stairs, the other half running just behind!

Adrien followed suit, just as the group came face-to-face with the akuma. Thirteen Ladybugs and one Chat Noir stood against the akuma, backs straight and faces set. The akuma faced them, uncertain. His moth-wings drooped.

"Get him!!!" Max hollered, and it was like the breaking of a dam.

Before the akuma could let loose a single blast, the whole class dog-piled on top of him. Kim held down one leg while Chloe and Sabrina stubbornly hung on to the other. The akuma tried in vain to flap his wings and break free, but Nino, Juleka and Mylene gripped his wrists. Ivan settled solidly on his chest and the akuma finally gave up.

"You'll pay! You'll all pay!" he insisted, but his enthusiasm waned.

Nathaniel and Alya scrambled around the akuma, looking for something - anything - Hawkmoth might have infected with his evil butterfly. They finally settled on the akuma's mask and stripped it off of his head. Alya handed it to Adrien, who snapped it in half. Sure enough, a poisonous purple butterfly fluttered aimlessly free as the akuma detransformed.

"What do we do now?" Nino wondered aloud, but his question was answered when a yo-yo snapped smartly down from the roof of the school and captured the insect.

"Great job, guys!" Ladybug called as their gazes rose to grab a glimpse of the far-off superheroine. "And nice costumes! _Miraculous Ladybug!!"_

The damage to the school was instantly repaired in a wash of ladybugs and light. Adrien sighed in relief. Just this once, Paris had proven itself against Hawkmoth. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Marinette rejoining the group. She was the single smidge of black amongst a milling sea of red costumes as they congratulated each other and comforted the akuma victim. Huh. Where had she gone off to..?


	2. Epilogue

Marinette dragged herself up the stairs to her bedroom that evening, her energy as flat as the belt she used for her tail. After school, she and all the Ladybugs had volunteered at a trick-or-treat gathering for kids. It had been fun, but exhausting. She lowered the trap door to her room with a sigh, resisting the urge to just lay out flat on her floor.

A tink-tink-tink noise sounded at her skylight and Marinette's head shot up, bewildered. Two glowing green eyes were evident through the glass. _Chat Noir?_ What could he be doing here? Did he figure out she was Ladybug somehow? Marinette forced her breathing to slow and decided to play it cool. With effort, she scaled her loft and stepped out onto her balcony to greet her unexpected guest.

"Hey, Chat Noir. Is everything okay? Did... uh, did Ladybug send you?" _That ought to throw him off the scent,_ she thought.

"I heard about the akuma attack at your school earlier today, and I had to come check out this first-rate costume," Chat Noir smiled appreciatively. "The details are _purr-fect_. You must be a big fan of mine, huh?"

Marinette rolled her eyes. That ego! "Well, I don't know if you heard, but my entire class went as Ladybug today. I decided to go a different direction, that's all."

Chat Noir frowned slightly and Marinette wondered if she had hurt his feelings.

"I _am_ a fan, though," she amended. "I mean, Ladybug could never do her job without her partner. And Chat Noir's suit is more of a design challenge, too. I wanted to look my best."

"I'm flattered," Chat Noir replied, his smile slipping easily back into place.

The two Chat Noirs stood in comfortable silence, elbows on the railing of Marinette's small space. They glanced at each other's costumes and burst out laughing. The odd pair they made was just too much.

Chat Noir recovered first. "In truth, though, I have to side with your classmates. You want to know what I picked for my Halloween costume? Here, I'll show you. Plagg, claws off!"

Marinette gasped and tried to cover her eyes, but she wasn't fast enough. Dumbfounded, she watched as the transformative green light slid up Chat Noir's body to reveal... a Ladybug costume? And a really _good_ Ladybug costume at that! Wait a minute...

Chat Noir's clip-on earrings, the final cheesy touch on an otherwise excellent costume, gave him away. Marinette's eyes narrowed. Well, on purpose or not, she finally knew who her kitty was.

"That's an awesome costume, Chat Noir," she said slowly. "I think Ladybug might like to see it, honestly. It really shows what a fan of hers you are."

Chat Noir rewarded her with a blush and she grinned to herself.

"She already knows I'm a fan," he said, backing up slowly as Marinette advanced across the rooftop.

His shoulders twitched like a nervous cat, despite his change of attire. His earlier confidence warred with confusion at the cryptic smile on Marinette's face.

"I'm sure she does, but maybe we should ask her, to be on the safe side." Marinette grabbed Chat Noir's hands just as he ran out of roof and his lower back barked the railing.

"Tikki, spots on," she whispered to her kwami.

The look on Chat Noir's - er, _Adrien's_ \- face as he took in the sight of two Ladybugs on the rooftop was fondly remembered by Marinette for years to come.


End file.
